CHAD’S GRADE: B
Hollywood conventional wisdom says the sequel is never as good as the original. But in the early 2000s, the superhero genre proved that axiom wrong, churning out superior sequel after sequel. X2: X-Men United is a bigger, muscular second chapter in the mutant franchise, thanks to a strong script that smartly adapted elements of the popular “God Loves, Man Kills” graphic novel. Spiderman 2 lets Sam Raimi indulge in his director fetishes, especially with the Doctor Octopus villain, but it’s also a surprisingly emotional arc for Toby Maguire’s Peter Parker. And then there is Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight,” where Batman battles his demented arch-nemesis The Joker in a gritty Gotham city that resembles post 9/11 America. The film transformed the Batman franchise and proved that the superhero genre could produce great cinema. Next to the original Superman film, it’s still the gold standard.
Sadly, Iron Man 2 never reaches those lofty heights. It’s still a fun movie with many of the original’s charms, but it’s also a jam-packed movie. The film devotes ample time to MCU world-building, as it’s obvious that the Marvel film group was anxiously setting up the upcoming Avengers extravaganza. Marvel green-lighted a sequel immediately after the original Iron Man became a smash hit (while the Incredible Hulk flatlined at the box office). The rushed production schedule reportedly irked director Jon Favreau (who directed the original), leaving him and screenwriter Justin Theroux (yes, Mr. Ex-Jennifer Anniston himself) little time to craft a second chapter that would do the original justice.
Following the events of Iron Man, Tony Stark is on top of the world. Now a media superstar after revealing his identity as Iron Man, he’s re-launched the Stark Expo in honor of his father, Howard Stark. But beneath the veneer of the spotlight, the palladium component in his heart reactor is slowly poisoning him. And Stark is now fighting mounting pressure from the U.S. government to hand over his Iron Man designs. Stark begins to distance himself from both Pepper Potts and James Rhodes. He promotes Pepper to CEO of Stark Industries and hires the alluring Natalie Rushman as his new personal assistant.
Stark soon finds himself facing off against a pair of very different adversaries; corporate rival Justin Hammer and Ivan Vanko, a Russian-based inventor whose skills easily match Tony’s. Despite the two-villain formula, the pair is nicely matched up as Hammer hopes to upstage Stark at his glitzy expo, while Vanko wants revenge on the Stark family for deporting his father to the Russian gulag. The slimy Justin Hammer is played by a perfectly cast Sam Rockwell, who portrays Hammer like a self-tanning Donald Trump Jr desperate for Stark’s attention. And kudos to Marvel for snagging Mickey Rourke amid a career resurgence to play vengeful Ivan Vanko. Rourke’s performance is a complete 180 from Rockwell’s; all stoic menace focused on destroying Stark and all that he holds dear. Some of the film’s best scenes are watching these two barely tolerate each other, united by their hatred of Tony Stark.
Also, a significant improvement is Don Cheadle as James Rhodes, taking over from Terence Howard, who was recast after a pay dispute with Marvel. Cheadle makes the part his own and can stand toe to toe with Downey Jr. His introduction as War Machine is the one MCU world-building that feels organic to the plot, as he’s tasked to hand over Starks MACH II prototype to the military.
But all these promising plot threads are derailed when the Shield gang shows up and plays intervention on Stark after a drunken meltdown at his birthday party. Samuel Jackson makes his proper, non-cameo debut as Nick Fury along with the always-welcome Agent Phil Coulson. The side plot also introduces Scarlet Johansson’s Black Widow, posing undercover as Tony’s new assistant Natalie Rushman. Fury gives Tony a pep talk, revealing that Tony’s father was a founding member of Shield during World War II. They hand Stark old film footage featuring a Disneyesque Howard Stark (a nice cameo by Mad Men’s John Slattery) showing off a 60’s era Stark Expo and telling the young Tony that his son will always be his greatest creation. This gives Stark the inspiration to build a new element that fuels his new heart reactor.
This is a plot-heavy film, missing the character-driven beats that made the original so memorable. Director Favreau tries to weave all these threads together, but the plotlines never quite mesh, leaving the film lurching from event to event. And the Ivan Vanko and Justin Hammer scenes feel part of a separate film, as the villain threat isn’t resolved until late in the finale.
Robert Downey Jr still plays the part with charisma to burn, but Tony’s emotional meltdown becomes grating, especially his treatment of Pepper Potts. Seriously, you wish she’d slap him and tell him to grow the hell up. And while the Shield scenes feature sparks of the witty banter in the upcoming Avenger’s films, they take the focus away from Tony Stark and his complicated relationship with his father’s legacy.
Iron Man 2 is a mixed bag that spreads itself too thin. The film has a meandering plot intercut with some crisp, exciting action scenes. The explosive finale at the Stark Expo is a blast but feels anti-climatic when War Machine and Iron Man quickly take down Ivan Vanko’s Whiplash armor. Despite the flashes of fun, Iron Man 2 consistently ranks as the low point of the MCU. It’s not quite that bad (The Incredible Hulk is far worse), but it had the potential to be so much more.
MCU WORLD BUILDING:
We get a literal smorgasbord of MCU references packed into the film. There’s the aforementioned War Machine, who would co-star in several MCU films. Another prominent figure is the introduction of the older Howard Stark, who would make flashback cameos in Ant-Man and Captain America Civil War. Scarlet Johansson is shoehorned into the movie, but we get a preview of her kick-ass Black Widow. She’ll get a personality and more to do in Avengers & The Winter Soldier. Also, when Fury briefs Stark on the Avengers initiative, news footage of the campus assault in the Incredible Hulk plays on a TV monitor. Agent Phil Coulson pops in and out for some deadpan banter with Stark. And in Stark’s workshop, we get a glimpse of a half-built Captain America shield, a clever nod to the upcoming MCU film.
WHERE’S STAN?
In the first Iron Man, Stan played Hugh Hefner. In the sequel, he plays another crotchety media figure as CNN’s Larry King during a POV scene where Happy Hogan guides Stark through a crowd. I can’t decide if it’s an improvement. It’s amusing, but I say let Stan be Stan.
BONUS CAMEO:
I have to hand it to Marvel, as this is a clever one. During the Monaco Grand Prix party scene, Tony shakes hands with Mr. Tesla and Space X himself Elon Musk.
POST CREDITS TEASER:
During Agent Coulson’s cameo, he tells Stark that he’s been called out to investigate a disturbance in New Mexico. Cut to the end of the (very long) credits where Coulson walks toward the edge of a large crater. The camera pans down to reveal the source of the cavity: Thor’s iconic hammer, Mjolnir. This is one of my favorite teasers, as it leads nicely into the next MCU film.